I started using heroin 4 years ago when I was 17. Since then, I’ve been to 5 different rehabs. None of which worked for me. I’d have loved to have gone to one rehab and never used again. I’m sure most people would but, it didn’t happen for me. Each time I went to rehab and then relapsed it became harder for my family. They couldn’t understand why I continued to use and I wasn’t able to explain it to them in a way they’d understand. My biggest problem was that I’d be fine keeping my cravings in check when I was in a program but as soon as I got home the desire to get high became almost unbearable. It’s hard to explain to your parents that while you want to be sober, you also want to get high so badly it drives you crazy. Eventually after coming home, it became too hard for me to stay sober and I’d relapse. While my parents didn’t understand me they continued to try and get me the help I needed. It was hard for them though, to have any amount of hope that “this rehab” would be different, that “this one” would succeed where all the others failed. That I could have a life where I wasn’t dependent on drugs. Last year that changed. They sent me to Choices and it’s the best program I’ve ever been to. The people working at Choices are really good people. Great at what they do with a level of kindness and caring that I hadn’t ever experienced at a rehab. Plus, I finally felt like someone understood me and what I was going through. It made it so much easier while I was going through my program. Just knowing that they understood me and were there to help me without judging what I’d done or been through. That, coupled with a program that actually helped me changed my life. The biggest change I experienced while I was at Choices was that somewhere along the way my desire to get high went away. I learned so much about myself and my addiction, I understood myself better than I ever had before. I learned what exactly started my addiction, why I continued to use and the desire behind my drug use. Plus during my program my general attitude improved until I was genuinely happy and I found that I just didn’t need drugs anymore to feel good. Now, I’ve been sober for 13 months and it’s amazing how much easier it’s been for me to stay that way. Don’t get me wrong, I work hard on my sobriety and the program I did at Choices wasn’t all that easy. All that hard work there paid off though and staying clean and sober is now something that is entirely doable for me. Since graduating from Choices and coming home my life has improved tremendously and it continues to get better every day. My parents and I are actually getting along again. I’ve started earning back their trust and while it’s been an extremely slow process, I am earning it back and it’s worth it. I honestly never thought I’d have a real relationship with my parents ever again and the fact that I do is amazing. Going to Choices, doing my program there, it saved my life and gave me a life that is actually worth living. I’m extremely grateful for everything the staff at Choices did for me. I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d be doing right now if I hadn’t gone to Choices but, I do know that it wouldn’t have been anything good.
